I have rested my head on everything from plush amazingness, to a couch cushion, to nothing at all. A couple of months in, I was a little worried about the possible future pillows I might encounter, but I wasn’t thrilled at the thought of lugging around a giant pillow or fighting to stuff it into my bag every morning. So, I did some research on what other travelers suggest for the best travel pillow.

This is not ideal.

This is really not ideal.

It didn’t take long to figure out that a down pillow is the way to go. Firstly, I love down stuff. If I could surround myself in down cushiness all the time, I totally would. It’s comfortable, it has a nice cooling affect and it’s lightweight. Additionally, a travel size feather pillow can fit almost anywhere. Believe me, if there is an inch of open space in my bag, I can force my travel pillow into it!

The best travel pillow I came across was from GooseFeet Gear, a one-man company that makes custom down gear including everything from down socks to pants to pretty much anything you want.

I got in touch with Ben, the main man over at GooseFeet to ask about his options for a travel pillow and he quickly gave me some great advice. This guy really knows his trade. He asked me all kinds of questions about how I sleep and what I like in terms of firmness and loft in pillows, etc. By the time he was putting my pillow together, (and Griffin’s, who had to have one as well), I was getting pretty excited about it. Ben actually makes all his products by hand and to order. You can’t beat that!

Optimal.

The pillow was perfect! I chose a black color so as not to show much dirt and Ben chose a rip-stop material to make sure it was durable. The first thing I did was spend some time squishing the pillow down and checking to see how long it took to regain its shape. Then I practiced stuffing it into the smallest spaces I could find and then taking it out and shaking it back to its original form. The pillow passed every test I could throw at it, so I thought it was time for the ultimate test, sleeping. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, my hostel-provided pillow granted me a great opportunity as it was basically a rock with a pillowcase. I whipped out my down travel pillow and was ready to go. I woke up the next morning and decided Ben had done me a huge favor. The thing slept great and I woke up feeling refreshed, without the sore neck I knew would await me with the cotton rock I would have been sleeping on.

From that point on, the pillow has stayed with me on planes, trains, buses, cars, etc. I just shove it into my day pack and I’m ready to dream. It adds no weight to my bag, which is ideal, it’s withstood everything I can throw at it, and grants me the ability to sleep on those rocky overnight trains.

If you’re a traveler looking for lightweight, durable, stuffable pillow, GooseFeet Gear is the place to shop. If you’re like me and your idea of heaven has down clouds, just drop Ben a line and he can hook you up with pretty much anything you want! Don’t sleep on this advice… just get the pillow.

After debating a while on whether or not to go to Thailand after an exhausting trip through India, we decided to give Indonesia a try, as we had previously visited Thailand on our honeymoon.

We did some research and found that you can rent houses in Bali, world renowned for surfing and beach life, for only a couple hundred dollars. We booked into a little hotel for a few nights to relax and find a place to spend a few weeks.

We arrived in Bali on November 23rd, which was pretty much perfect. Although a lot cooler temperature-wise than the burning sun of India, we weren’t complaining of feeling the Summer heat while our friends and family back home in the states were bundling up for Winter.

We quickly worked out a housing deal with Bernard, a seasonal worker in Bali, to rent his house for the next several weeks. Because Bernard’s place came with high speed internet and several other perks, it was a bit more expensive at right about $430 for just under a month. It was just what we needed to get away from the chaos of the surfer laden Kuta area, but still have internet access to fit Griffin’s growing freelance design business.

The house was two bedrooms and situated near the beach, although the walk down proved to be a larger task than we thought. It also had a full kitchen and pretty large bathroom. Strangely, the kitchen and bathroom were separate from the bedrooms. We’re still a little unsure of the architectural design there. Perhaps the best part: it came with a daily maid! Every day the sweetest lady would come and make the beds, sweep, dust, wash dishes, clean the bathroom, change the sheets or whatever else she noticed. It was awesome.

Meanwhile in Bali we took in the sights and even tried our hand at surfing. Griffin, who had been surfing before, got it straight away, while I had to work a little longer. I’m not saying we’re professional or anything, but… yeah. Throughout the month we had lots of opportunities to play in the water, walk on the beach, try out cool restaurants and just relax.

Finally toward the end of our trip we headed out of the island of Bali and ventured North to Java to check out attractions there.

We were a little disappointed because the famous Ijen Volcano, known for it’s sulfur mines and huge crater lake, was not open to visitors due to an eruption only a few days before we arrived. So, we carried on to our next volcanic destination, Mr. Bromo.

Mt. Bromo is known for it’s volcano inside a volcano structure and for it’s ash cloud eruptions that happen about every half hour or so. The volcano has spread ash over the nearby region of Cemoro Lewang at least a few times over the past decade or so.

We checked out Mt. Bromo at sunrise which was a beautiful and awe-inspiring site. To get there, we just booked a jeep ride at one of the mountain side homestays that took us most of the way up to the view point. From there, some stair climbing was a good way to get some warmth as it was pretty chilly in that higher altitude at 4:30am. We watched the sun come up over the beautiful landscape and stayed a little longer to see the ash clouds erupting from the mountain. Then back down to our hostel for a nap!

From Mt. Bromo we headed to Yogyakarta to visit Borobudur Temple. This magnificent architectural wonder is one the most spectacular buddhist temples in the world and probably the coolest one we’ve seen. It dates back to the 8th or 9th century. The bell shaped stupas each house a buddha statue inside. Again, we were up early for a sunrise tour of the World Heritage site. It did not disappoint. As much as I hate waking up before daylight, it’s always worth it to see such beauty.

Yogyakarta also boasts another World Heritage Site, the Prambanan Temples, which are Hindu temples first built around 850 and rediscovered in the early 1800’s. It reminded us a bit of Angkor Wat, a site we got to see while visiting Cambodia on our honeymoon.

During our month long stay in Indonesia, we relaxed, saw some awesome sites and made some new friend. We even got to attend a wedding there, which was definitely a highlight of the trip.

After so much time in Asia, we decided to check out a new part of the world and booked a quick flight to Cairns, Australia. Check back soon to hear about our tour of Eastern Australia.

Big thanks to One Source Network for providing us with the Velbon UT 43D tripod as many of the shots in the post would not have been possible without it.

Blue

I grabbed this photo while taking in Carnivale in Venice in 2007. Blue is my favorite color, so when I saw these two revelers, I knew I had to take this shot. The masks are not only beautiful, but also mysterious. I also liked how the texture of the material make the photo seem almost a little icy. (Incidentally, this is my wife’s all time favorite of my photos.)

Green

This photo is one I treasure. After the long hike up the top of these rice terraces, I looked out over the landscape and just had to pause at the beauty of the place. When I saw this farmer with his back to the view, going about his work, I had to wonder how he kept himself from looking back all the time to see what he had created.

Yellow

I love looking up to take photos! This is a simple photo taken from directly underneath The Eiffel Tower in Paris. At night, the tower lights up and puts on a great show. But not many people think to look up when walking right underneath!

White

I took this photo while waiting for a little friend who was enjoying her time on the Carousel. The movement of the whole apparatus, decorated with white lights for Christmas, really grabbed my attention. I couldn’t help getting this motion on camera by holding the shutter open.

Red

While living in Korea for two years, I saw a lot of gazebos, temples and pagodas. This one, however, really captured my imagination with its unique and secluded setting. I had to wait for a while for the rain to stop to get this shot, but it was worth it.

Thanks so much for taking the time to view these photos. I love photography and sharing with others the amazing scenes the world has to offer.

Nominations

Here are the 5 bloggers that I am nominating. If your name is not here and you think that it should be, no worries you can enter anyway. Just check out the link and make your own post. These are people who I greatly admire in both their photography skills and vision and find to be inspirational.

The 5 bloggers that I nominate that I think should participate in this contest are:

• Justin Troupe
• Trey Ratcliff
• Neil van Niekerk
• Gary Arnt
• Beth

Big thanks to One Source Network for providing us with the Velbon UT 43D tripod as many of the shots in the post would not have been possible without it.

By this point, we had enjoyed a lot of Indian food, some hot weather and some interesting places. However, for Jaisalmer, we were mostly interested in the Sam Sand Dunes, just about 30 minutes’ drive outside of town.

We quickly booked a jeep tour and headed out to the desert! The dunes did not disappoint. It was strange to see a sudden desert come up on the horizon and be able to access it from a main road. I can’t say that the desert stretched as far as the eye can see, because, frankly, it didn’t. The desert was big, don’t get me wrong, but you could easily walk to the end of it in about 20 minutes. Still impressive, though.

As we walked across into the dunes, we were spotted immediately by the touts we had grown so accustomed to in India. They were out in full force to sell everything from snacks to camel rides. (Point of advice, camels make this place one that is not friendly to bare feet. I recommend bringing sandals!)

We watched as costumed performers sang and danced and begged for tips. We enjoyed an ice cold water in the desert as we watched the sun set over the dunes. Then we headed back to our hotel and counted the day as a good one.

There were other cool places to see in Jaisalmer, which we quickly set out for. We took in the Gadisar Lake, which was near the place we met for the jeep tour. I found this one interesting mostly because of the giant fish that call the man made lake home. Apparently most Indians don’t eat fish, but like to feed them. =) The fish grow large and plentiful and are a lot of fun to watch.

Jaisalmer, like any other Indian city, also has a large fort, which we also scoped out. This was was honestly a little more decorative than some of the other forts we had seen, so that was a nice change.

We also spent some time looking at the Patwaon Ki Haveli and the Bada Bagh, two really beautiful pieces of architecture.

At this point on our journey, we had spent about six weeks in India, and to be honest, we were sort of itching to get out. We sped through the sites and booked our flight out of New Delhi, hopped a train to the airport and away we went.

We hope you will continue to follow along on our journey. Please check back soon to read al about our month-long vacation in Bali, Indonesia.

Travel Tips:
As I said, at this point of our trip through India, we were a little tired of India. We sprung for a nicer hotel, which did not disappoint. Hotel Roop Mahal, which had great food, nice room (with ac) and was in a good location. The price was steep for India at around $14 per night.

Transportation: We took an AC 3 Tier class train to from Jodhpur to Jaisalmer, which cost about $7 per person. Remember, if you want to book a train in India you need to do that as far in advance as possible. For help in booking train tickets, you can always e-mail us, or check out seat61.com and click on India on the left hand side.

For Jaisalmer, we actually didn’t hire a driver and just talked with the autorickshaw guys for the one-two times we wanted to ride instead of walk. This is mostly a walking city, so no need to secure a tour guide or driver. Your one-way trip in an auto-rickshaw should cost you no more than $1-2. We did book the jeep tour out to the Sam Sand Dunes, which cost us about $5 each.

Daily Budget: Our daily was $40.08 for 4 days including train travel, accommodation, food and all attraction entrances.

Griffin and I have had pleasure and opportunity to see some of the most beaufiul places on the planet. But, sometimes, it’s not the most beautiful things that are the most interesting.

Deep in the heart of China’s mainland, sits the city of Xi’An, one of China’s Four Great Ancient Capitals. Though it’s not much to look at, it holds one of the most fascinating scenes in the world.

Xi’an, with over 3,000 years of history, took its place as China’s capital city during several different ruling dynasties for a total of more than 400 years. Its significance is far reaching as the start of the “Silk Road,” one of the most important trade routes in history, interconnecting Africa, Europe and Asia.

Since we’re not trading anything, we came to Xi’an to see something different. That is, something different that you can find anywhere else on earth.

During the days of Qinshihuang, the first emperor of unified China, one thing became abundantly clear: this guy was paranoid about death. Though the man is credited with many of China’s historal feats, including the beginning of construction of the Great Wall, he is perhaps best known for one thing, the 8,000 life-size clay soldiers that now guard his tomb.

First discovered by a group of farmers in 1974, archaeologists unearthed the now famous, Terracotta Army, still standing at attention and in perfect formation for their job as the attendants of the emeror’s soul. Every soldier is unique, with their differing facial features most likely being attributed to the unpaid laborers who constructed each one. The soldiers are also ranked and stand ready for their individual jobs as messengers, horsemen (complete with horses), officers, and even those tasked to accompany the carriage believed to house Qinshihuang’s soul.

There are four known pits where the soldiers are burried, located about 1.5km away from the emperor’s burial mound. Each of the soldiers was once painted from head to toe, but the oxygen that reaches it upon excavation instantly fades the colors and the true clay color emerges with minutes.

Standing at the enourmous warehouses, where the army members are still being systematically excavated and restored is truly mind-blowing. The details of their armor and the eyes that search out enemies are hallowing.

We toured the grounds with a guide who filled us in on the history, as well as the rank and job of each of the soldiers. What struck me, was just how life-like the army actually is. They are not only life-size, but they are actually set-up to be efficient. There are clay guards at the meeting room doors of clay officers. There are clay horses at the ready for messeges that may need to reach the clay ears of an officer at another camp. Some soldiers stand at attention and some kneel in reverence, to an emperor who was afraid of being vulnerable in life and in death. By the time we left there, we were talking about the Terracotta Warriors like they were real men, suspended in animation.

This experience was one that I will truly never forget. Looking out at this sea of soldiers made me feel small and and yet safe. I can’t recommend this destination highly enough.

If you’re making your way to China, it’s good to remember that Qinshihuang built more than a wall. His creations are still standing ready to greet you.

This article was originally published on Indie Travel Podcast

On from Jaipur, we took about a 5 hour train ride to Jodhpur, also known as The Blue City.

We were pleasantly surprised that The Blue City is actually blue. Since visiting Jaipur, which was supposed to be pink, but really wasn’t, it was cool to look out over the city and see a whole lot of blue.

Jodhpur boasts an amazing asset, its incredible Mehrangarh Fort, which is set up on a hill, visible throughout the city. What’s more, the tour of the fort itself, is fantastic. A thorough tour of Mehrangarh will take several hours. What’s unique about this fort is that it’s not just old city walls, it’s an actual museum throughout the tour. You can visit the rooms where former Indian kings met with foreign dignitaries, see the actual palanquins (lifted chairs carried by servants) that the royal families used to ride on, battle tested armor and swords, and other really amazing artifacts. The fort is actually one of the best stocked museums in India.

Jodhpur also has a pretty cool building, which we didn’t take the time to visit, called Umaid Bhawan Palace. The palace is actually split up into three parts, a museum, a hotel and the primary residence of the Erstwhile royal family. If you do get the time, please go visit it.

Another cool thing we did see was the Jaswant Thada, a really cool white marble mausoleum which has walls thin enough that the sunlight shines through the marble and creates a cool glowing effect. It’s a small place, but well worth the visit.

We knocked out everything we wanted to see in Jodhpur fairly quickly, so we headed on to our last stop, Jaisalmer.

Travel Tips:

Our visit in Jodhpur included some work time, which worked nicely for us because although Jodhpur is a great city to visit and I highly recommend you stop there, the tour time you need there isn’t that much. I recommend only 1 1/2 -2 days.

Hotel: We stayed at a place called Shivam Paying Guesthouse. The cost, per night was about $8 per night for the two of us. This included a free breakfast and free wifi. The food was good and the beds comfortable. We did have a couple of problems. Our first night was spent with an “air conditioner” that was actually an extremely loud fan which just circulated hot air. We had to open the windows for fresh air, which invited mosquitos. We finally upgraded to a room with an actual a/c. We then had some trouble with the free breakfast, which they wanted to charge for. We had a discussion with the manager guy and eventually got what was advertised.

Transportation: We took an AC 2 Tier class train to from Jaipur to Jodhpur, which cost about $11 per person. Remember, if you want to book a train in India you need to do that as far in advance as possible. For help in booking train tickets, you can always e-mail us, or check out seat61.com and click on India on the left hand side.

For Jodhpur, we actually didn’t hire a driver and just talked with the autorickshaw guys for the one-two times we wanted to ride instead of walk. This is mostly a walking city, so no need to secure a tour guide or driver. Your one-way trip in an auto-rickshaw should cost you no more than $1-2.

Daily Budget: Our daily was $41.78 for 3 days including train travel, accommodation, food and all attraction entrances.

Photo taken using Tamron SP AF 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di II LD Aspherical [IF]

On our last day in Bali, I drove the scooter over to Uluwatu Temple on the West Coast of the Bukit Penensula for some final sunset pictures.

I got there just as the light was starting to change and took this shot of the cliffs with the mainland of Bali in the background. If you look closely, you will notice some of Bali’s mountains created from volcanoes on the right side in the distance.

As you can see, the water was just beautiful and you can see right to the bottom until it drops off about 50 feet from the shore. We really enjoyed our time in Bali. The people are kind, the scenery is beautiful and the weather is warm. We even met with a Facebook friend from Australia for the first time and made some Balinesian friends for life and were invited to their wedding. We hope to return to Bali in the future and catch back up.

Travel Photo Of The Week Sponsored By Tamron USA.

For more information about Tamron and the lenses we use, check out our sponsors page here.

Photo taken using Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD LD Aspherical IF Macro Zoom Lens

We arrived in Bali, Indonesia with the intention to stay for one month in the best house we could find for about $200.

After some searching we quickly learned that if we wanted air conditioning and internet we would need to raise our budget. After a couple days of searching we had found three really good options and finally made a decision on one house that was a little more than we wanted to spend, but had everything we wanted plus a daily maid! The house was out in the countryside about 30 minutes from the main tourist area of Kuta, which we liked, and about 5 minutes from the coast. We paid $435 to the owner, who was leaving the next day to teach Paragliding in Nepal, and moved our things in. After a couple nights of settling in and exploring the nearby area we came to this cliffside beach just around sunset. The tide was so low that the outer sandbar was taking all the impact of the waves and the surface nearest to us was as smooth as glass. I zoomed my lens all the way in and captured this sunset scene. I am so thankful and blessed to be able to witness such beautiful and amazing sights like this.

The things you can see sticking up are posts that the local villagers tie ropes to in order to collect seaweed for eating and selling. There are many shacks right along the beach at the base of the cliffs on this side of the island where the local people seem to be living the same way they have been for centuries and taking what the sea provides for their health and sustenance.

P.S. If you click on the image, you can see a similar picture taken at the same time and location. Hope you enjoy!

Travel Photo Of The Week Sponsored By Tamron USA.

For more information about Tamron and the lenses we use, check out our sponsors page here.

If there is one thing an expat can appreciate, it’s returning “home” for a visit.

However, after being away for more than a year in one of the world’s healthiest countries, we were more than a little shocked at the sites we saw when were stateside for three weeks in September 2010 last year.

Don’t get me wrong, Griffin and I appreciate good food, and both acknowledge that we have some pounds we’d like to drop, but it’s so disheartening to see the health of America declining so rapidly.

In Korea, on the other hand, you’ll be hard pressed to find an obese person anywhere.  As the origin of the world’s leading martial art, Tae Kwon Do, along with all the beautiful and well used-hiking trails, exercise is made a priority here.

So is healthy food.  Vegetables, fresh and ripe, garner every table at every meal.  We were surprised and happy to learn that a Korean national food, Kimchi, is listed in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) top five healthiest foods.

Kimchi, that spicy, fermented, national treasure, is eaten three times a day by most Koreans.  According to the WHO, this vegetable and red pepper paste based food is high in fiber, but low in calories, and makes up for 80% of your daily need of Vitamin C and Carotene.  It’s also rich in vitamin A, thiamine (B₁), riboflavin (B₂), calcium, and iron, and contains a number of healthy bacteria.  In addition, it’s extremely good for your immune system and has been proven to fight off viruses and infections.

We’ve often wondered about the process of making Kimchi, and after more than a year, we finally got to experience it first hand.

Thanks to the Ulsan Metropolitan Office of Education, we were sent to a one day “Kimchi School” at the Onggi Festival in Ulsan.

There, we were assigned a helper, and given all the ingredients and tools we needed.  We were surprised that it is such a hands-on process.

After mixing some oil, ground red pepper and garlic together with some chopped onions and radish, we painstakingly smoothed the mixture between each leaf of a special cabbage plant.  Our helper then rolled and wrapped our edible artwork into a picture perfect breeding ground for the helpful bacteria that will ferment the dish and give it the tangy flavor it needs, along with the added nutritional factors Kimchi is known for.  The plants were carefully set into our handy clay pot, and we were told to set them outside for about three days to let them age a little before bringing them in to refrigerate.

We each made three Kimchi cabbages.  (One of which was donated to a local nursing home by each participant.)  This took us about an hour once we got underway.  However, we’ve been told that Korean women make Kimchi only once per year.  I have no idea how long that would take, but I know Americans should give it a try!

Thanks, Korea, for making the world a healthier place, one spicy cabbage leaf at a time.

We hope you like the pictures.

Travel Photo Of The Week: Looking Up at the Petronas Towers Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Click to view larger size

Photo taken using Tamron SP AF 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di II LD Aspherical [IF]

The first stop on our around the world trip after we left Korea was Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia which is home to the tallest twin buildings buildings in the world – the Petronas Towers. We spent about three day in Malaysia and really enjoyed it. Some of the highlights of our trip were seeing the Petronas Towers of course, seeing cute monkeys at the Batu Caves, Enjoying great Indian, Malay and Chinese food and just walking around exploring the city. We had not planned to go to Kuala Lumpur, but had a stop over and decided to extend it on our way to Nepal. We were glad we decided to stay a few days and really enjoyed exploring some of Malaysia and meeting some very kind people as well.

For more beautiful pictures of Malaysia and many other places in the world, check out my friend Trey Ratcliff’s site here. I think you’ll enjoy what you see.

Travel Photo Of The Week Sponsored By Tamron USA.

For more information about Tamron and the lenses we use, check out our sponsors page here.

1. Dedication Has Its Rewards

This one is pretty self explanatory, but the thing to keep in mind when something gets difficult or tiresome, is that in the end, the reward will usually be worth the fight.

Taekwondo Master Yun, Azel, Valerie and Griffin

2. Sometimes the Rewards are Not What You Expect

When we first started training in Taekwondo, we thought the reward at the end would be that we could say we were black belts and that we would know how to defend ourselves better. In the end, both of those things are true, but we have found that the more rewarding part of the journey is the friendships we have built with the people we attended class with, and our instructor.

We have learned so much about each other and there are things that can be learned through struggling together towards a common goal, that cannot be easily learned in other circumstances. We will always have a special place in our heart for our Taekwondo instructor and the friends who have taken this journey with us. Those are our biggest rewards.

3. Learning is 90% Mental and 10% Physical

Our bodies are capable of doing amazing things, but many times, the reason we rarely reach those levels is because we allow our minds to tell our bodies we can’t do it. Whether it is going a whole class without a rest, doing those last few push ups, or practicing that kick one more time even though your hips feel like they are about to fall out of socket, the attitude to keep going is important. One of the things Taekwondo has reiterated is that success is an attitude, thought process and work ethic more than anything else.

4. The More Challenging Something is, the More Rewarding the Outcome

No one feels a lot of reward from completing an easy task or quitting when something gets difficult. As humans, we seek challenging things out as we intuitively know that accomplishing those things holds the greatest reward. In a society that seems to value mediocrity, people who stand out need to push beyond the norm and accomplish that which is not easily aquired.

5. Good Traits Require no Common Language to See and Appreciate

Our Taekwondo instructor does not speak English and we do not speak Korean, but over the last 12 months of training, we have come to realize more and more that common language is not a necessity for sharing kindness, respect, understanding and friendship. Paulo Coelho so beautifully captures this idea in his book, The Alchemist, in which he talks about the universal language. This is not some mystical new age thing, but rather a realization of the fact that we are all humans made by the same Creator and He has put in us the ability to see, understand and relate to the humanness of those around us. If people show genuine happiness, kindness, thoughtfulness and friendship, no language is needed to recognize, appreciate and reciprocate those traits.
On the other hand, bad traits share the same ability. If you are lazy, mean, rude, impatient or otherwise not enjoyable to be around, that too can be easily seen by people of other languages, cultures and beliefs. We should all strive to show the love that is in us to others and be ready to explain where it comes from if asked.

Here is a video of our test so you can see what it was like. Big thanks to our good friends Trinh and Eugene for coming over on a Saturday and filming it for us.

BONUS: Accountability Is Key

Paragliding was so much fun and we were glad to share the experience with our friends Helmut and Celina.  We hope you can get an idea of what it is like and enjoy it along with us in the video.

Thank you to Oh Su Hyun for helping us be able to do this!

Here is a video I put together of the first trip we took.  This is part 1 of 2 and in this video we make a traditional Korean Mask and visit a traditional Korean Paper Factory.  Enjoy!

For pictures from the trip, please check out our Flickr set here.

Tucked away in the hills just South of the bustling city of Kyoto are many brightly painted arches along a path through the woods. These arches and adjoining shrines make up the Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine. This is a short video with pictures and information about the shrine.

We spent about and hour exploring the market and really enjoyed it.  We highly recommend the boat ride purchase if you go as it really let’s you experience the market first hand and since it is a floating market, is the only real way to explore it for what it is.  One of Griffin’s highlights was trying fried bananas for the first time!  They were so good!  Later, when editing pictures he realized he had taken a photo of the same banana seller he photographed when visiting there in 2007.

Sometimes it is easy to think that the people we see while traveling may be there for a couple years until they get a new  job or decide to move as we so often do in America, but the more likely case is that the people at the floating market may have been doing that same job since they were young and will continue to do that job until they die.  As Americans we take so much for granted.  I ask you to take a moment to reflect on the things you have started to take for granted and remind yourself how lucky you are and to thank God for your blessings.

Below are some of our favorite pictures from the market.  You can see the “Banana Lady” picture taken in 2009.  To see the picture from 2007, click here.  To see more pictures from the floating market and our visit to Thailand, click here.

If you get the chance to visit Thailand, we recommend a visit to the floating market.  We also recommend going with the expectation that it will be mostly very touristy and not traditional and then what little tradition is there to be seen will be appreciated.  Enjoy the tour;-)

Valerie and I took a day trip the floating market in Thailand and rented a boat to fully explore and experience this market that has existed for hundreds and maybe even thousands of years.

Click on a picture to zoom in. Also you can use your up, down, left and right arrow keys to move around the pictures. Enjoy.

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An-yang-ha-se-yo! (Hello!)

We arrived safely in South Korea on September 18th (still the 17th in the U.S.). We were immediately taken to meet the teachers at Hyundai Chungun Middle School where I will be teaching for the next 12 months. We had a meeting with the principal which consisted of everyone speaking in Korean for about 5 minutes, then asking us a question in English, then continuing to talk about us in Korean. From there, we were taken to a hotel since our apartment was not yet ready. We were able to meet with the teachers we are replacing, which was very helpful. Jason and Kristen are from Oregon and had been the first native English speakers in their respective schools since several years ago, so they had already pioneered everything for us and were a great help. Griffin teaches at Hyundai Middle school, which is about a 15 minute walk from my school.
You will notice a familiar name associated with both schools, Hyundai. Hyundai’s main headquarters is right here in Ulsan. With the ship-building company, as well as offshore engineering and Hyundai Motor Company, roughly 30,000 employees pour into the city for work each day. This company truly stretches for miles and you can easily see its influence here. Most people realize that without the company, Ulsan’s economy would be drastically different.
We were finally able to move into our apartment on Wednesday, the 23rd, and we have slowly been settling in, trying to find a space for everything. We feel blessed that our apartment is much bigger than Kristen and Jason’s, however, it is still very small. As our very first home together, though, we are so excited! We have both begun teaching and are very happy with our students. The students here go to school from 8:30am until 4:30pm and then go to a private school, or Hagwan, from 5:00pm until about 10:00pm. They also go to school on Saturdays, although we are excused from teaching on the weekends.
We haven’t had a real opportunity to do much exploring, but hope to change that soon. We will definitely keep you updated!
Until then, An-yang-hik-ye-se-yo… (I think that’s it!)

Valerie and Griffin

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